Phantom Movie- HUH??

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 12:35pm

I FINALLY saw the Phantom movie last night, and I must admit I was quite dissappointed. My friend and I were SO confused during most of it because we couldn't understand/hear most of the lyrics. Neither of us have ever seen the show. Did anyone else have this problem?
I was hoping you guys could clear up some questions I had. Thanks.
1)At the end, when the Phantom captures Christine and Raoul comes to save her and gets tied up, what exactly was the choice Christine had to make? Was it: Stay with the Phantom or Raoul dies?
2) Christine decided to stay with the Phantom, right? I mean, she kissed him... So then why did the Phantom let them go?
3)Who were the old man and woman in the black/white parts supposed to be? I wasn't sure.

Thanks for any answers.

Updated On: 5/22/05 at 12:35 PM

[Aigoo]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 12:38pm

Let me give you a suggestion if you can't understand the lyrics: subtitles.


1) That was Christine's choice.
2) Christine still loved Raoul, so she obviously didn't want to send him to his death. She decided to stay with the Phantom, to show him how wonderful life could be, or to "free his soul", if you will. But the Phantom was so touched by her love, he let them both go.
3) The woman is Mme. Giry, the man is Raoul (Vicomte). It says in the beginning at the auction.

Updated On: 5/22/05 at 12:38 PM

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 12:40pm

Umm, wrong. The old woman is Meg Giry at the end...Raoul is much older than that "woman" at the end, and the years make sense for it to be Meg...
Updated On: 5/22/05 at 12:40 PM

[Aigoo]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 12:42pm

Ok, that's what I was thinking. When he said Madame Giry I just assumed it was one and the same. My mistake.

[zepka102]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 12:45pm

we've had the discussion about if its meg or madam giry before and we weren't sure... but he DOES say madame giry, which makes it unclear because why would meg be a madame giry... she kept her last name? so who knows...

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 12:48pm

Okay, that sorta makes more sense.

Re: subtitles. My friend coudn't find her remote, so there ya go. Believe me, we tried.

Meg was the blonde haired girl?

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 12:51pm

Yes, this has been debated much times and I'm positive it was Madame Giry. The biggest example was if Meg was Madame, she would no longer be Giry. Also, there was no interaction between Meg and Raoul why would it obviously seem like they knew each other? and also, well gotta stop bringing this book up, but Susan Kay's "Phantom" at the end says Raoul looked much older than he really was due to circumstances, not necessarily that ALW was using this version, but it still makes sense that he would look older than Madame Giry.

[Sant]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 1:03pm

... not to mention that the old woman in the b/w sequences was played by Miranda Richardson who played Mme Giry - not Meg Giry.
Of course one could say that it is Meg who grew up to look like her mother but that's too far fetched, I think.

[OnTheAisle]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 1:12pm

Elphie:

I also watched POTO last night, and maybe because I was watching and posting or something, but I thought it was relatively boring. I did have the closed captioning on, and that made a world of difference, but still - it was pretty (especially the scene at the tomb), but it just sort of fell flat to me... nice to know I wasn't the only one!

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 1:13pm

And apparently, according to the screenplay, Madame Giry (Miranda Richardson), though older than Raoul by 15 years, was healthier than Raoul. It was Meg's mother who attended the auction.

[amourdujour]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 1:17pm

I always thought it was little Giry and Raoul. shows how much I know!

[MyDreamsRecurring]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 1:24pm

um...listen more closely?
i hadnt seen it before the movie either and understood it
geez, you'll never be able to watch sondheim..

[MusicalDirector109]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 1:31pm

I find that the diction in the first "Hannibal" sequence to be horrible. Maybe that was to be the intended point with Carlotta; but I really had to listen. I thought the movie played a bit better in the theatres. At home it falls very flat.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 2:10pm

The whole Meg/Madame Giry thing has been beaten to death. I actually thought that the last scene was one of the best ones in the whole movie.

Elphie- might I suggest you turn up the volume?

[babygiraffeboots]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 2:29pm

I saw it for the first time last night too. The movie actually cleared up a lot of the story for me that didn't come across in the show and some of the lyrics I was able to understand for the first time. There were things I liked and disliked about as with anything. I loved Patrick Wilson. Gerard Butler-talk about flat, but pretty good for someone who had never sung before. I was dissapointed with the phantom's makeup.

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 3:47pm

Geez, everyone must think I am really stupid or something. I'm not.
We were listening as hard as we could. We were close to the tv and were straining. Especially in "All I ask of You." We couldn't hear a single word. The music drowned the words out completely. If I hadn't known the song, I would have been totally lost.
The volume WAS up. Turning it even louder wouldn't have helped, because then the orchestrations would have gotten louder, too.

I did not like Gerard Butler. His accent was so weird and he could not sing.

Updated On: 5/22/05 at 03:47 PM

[Aigoo]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 4:06pm

Emmy Rossum's voice is very soft. It would probably be hardest to hear her though. But when all else fails, just look up the lyrics or find that darned remote.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 4:18pm

Perhaps something is up with the levels of your sound system? I've never heard anyone complain about hearing the words. Weird.

The woman is definitely Madame Giry, the mother.

It's a shame you didn't like the film. I think it's a beautiful film translation of the stage musical.

[Jezebel]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 6:19pm

I had no problem making out the words, and I agree - it's a beautiful translation of the stage show. More than I hoped for, actually.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 6:23pm

I had a bit of trouble getting all the words during the parts where all the characters sing together.

[Aigoo]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 6:24pm

The last scene was sort of hard the separate the words, and some other times. You could understand it, but it just seemed hectic because you can't really tell who's saying what. Otherwise, I thought it was a pretty decent production.

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 6:30pm

I thought the movie was beautifully shot, and I LOVED the costumes. I guess I was just hoping the talent would be greater.

There must have either been something wrong with the dvd, or with my friend's tv, I guess.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 6:39pm

...I thought Gerard Butler was great. According to articles and the special features, they werent looking for a really great singer, but someone with a deep powerful dark voice. Which was what Gerard gave. Plus, that man is amazing at acting.


...I loved the movie with the biggest passion. One of my favorites.

[suddenlyseymour]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 6:51pm

I absolutely loved this movie. I love emmy's voice even though she has been criticized. I wasn't a big fan of Butler, but every time I watch it I get more used to his voice. He also looks great on screen. I thought all 3 leads had great chemistry, especially patrick and emmy. I loved patrick as Raoul! But I have to say emmy was the best part of the movie for me. I love the new songs that were written for the movie.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 5/22/05 at 6:57pm

Yeah, I never found anything wrong with Emmy at all. She's pretty, a great actress, and a beautiful beautiful voice.